International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 05 | May 2025
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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A REVIEW OF COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BLACK COTTON SOIL BY USING ELECTRONIC WASTE AND LIME Dhananjay Bharati1, Mr. Ushendra Kumar2 1Master of Technology, Civil Engineering, Lucknow Institute of Technology, Lucknow, India
2Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Lucknow Institute of Technology, Lucknow, India
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Abstract - Black cotton soil which is notoriously
differential settlement and low bearing capacity. Such inherent properties make it unsuitable to bear civil engineering infrastructure such as foundations, pavements, and embankments, without being stabilized. Therefore, soil stabilization thus proves to be essential in combating such risks and improving soil’s geotechnical capabilities, thereby providing long-term structural stability and safety in construction works.
expansive and has low bearing capacity is a major problem in the civil engineering projects. The age-old stabilization with the use of lime is productive, but is compromised by high costs, emission of carbon and durability. Electronic waste (e-waste) has been studied in this review paper as a sustainable option, whereby a comparative study of lime and e-waste has been carried out for black cotton soil stabilization. The performance (mechanical – unconfined compressive strength, California Bearing Ratio, environmental – leaching potential, carbon footprint, and economic – viability are evaluated through the study. Bearing the best strength value (up to 550 kPa UCS) and swelling reduction (60–70%) but leads to high CO₂ emissions of 1.2–1.4 tons of CO₂ per ton of lime and potential long-term stability concerns. E-waste stabilisation although providing moderate strength increase (300–400 kPa UCS), provides cost saving benefits (50–60%), waste diversion (30–40 kg per ton of soil), and reduction in carbon foot print (0.3–0.5 tons CO₂). However, e-waste allows heavy metals leaching which warrants measures to prevent the same. An intermediary solution that combines lime (4%) and e-waste (10%) surfaces and balances strength as well as sustainability (480 kPa UCS). The key for scaling these methods are standardization of e-waste processing and lifecycle assessments according to the study. Drawing waste management and geotechnical engineering closer together, the present work proposes context-sensitive selection of stabilizers at the expense of neither sustainability nor performance, and highlights the capabilities of e-waste in jointly solving global challenges of expansive soils and the expansion of electronic waste.
1.1.1 Black Cotton Soil Black cotton soil, an extremely expansive clayey soil is mainly covered by tropical and sub tropical zones as India, Africa and Australia. Formed by the weathering of volcanic basalt rock, it is known for its high surface area form montmorillonite mineral content which makes it to have a significant shrink-swell behavior when it is exposed to moisture changes. This soil has high plasticity (liquid limits regularly above 50%), low strength of shear, and poor permeability, and hence it can not be used for engineering works without stabilization. In the dry periods, the soil shrinks and cracks but during swelling monsoon rains the soil swells, causing structural failures such as foundation heave, pavement cracking and slope instability. To overcome these challenges the stabilization methods are required to improve its load-bearing strength, minimize the volumetric changes and long-term stability in road, building, and embankment(s) such projects.
Key Words: Black cotton soil; Soil stabilization; Electronic waste (e-waste); Lime stabilization; Sustainable geotechnics; Heavy metal leaching; Waste valorization.
1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background The black cotton soil, a wide clayey soil which is mainly developed from breaking of volcanic rocks, has broad distribution in the tropical and subtropical areas like India, Africa and Australia. With high percentage of montmorillonite mineral; this soil displays extreme swellshrink properties as a result of moisture fluctuation; resulting to critical engineering problems such as cracking,
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Figure-1: Black Cotton Soil
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